Checking In with the Press
by SamCyberCat
Summary: Investigating a murder away from the city was proving quite a chore, but one thing Apollo was sure of was that he was not going to be seen checking into a hotel with Klavier. Apollo/Klavier.


Notes: Set post-AJ, probably not by too far.

There were no good points to investigating a murder.

But something considerably lucky, something Apollo had never really considered before now, was that a lot of the cases he'd been involved in happened close to home. The Kitaki affair had all occurred in the area surrounding the Wright Talent Agency, the Sunshine Coliseum hadn't been that far away and he hadn't personally had to examine the Borscht Bowl Club.

One thing that all of his investigations had in common were that they had always been in the city, and until he had been sent to investigate a crime scene well outside of that boundary that he actually noticed this.

It wasn't that he was in the middle of nowhere but he was definitely in the middle of somewhere that he wasn't particularly familiar with. Or familiar with at all for that matter.

Another aspect of this investigation that was different from usual was the presence of Prosecutor Gavin. Not because he was usually absent for an entire murder investigation, he had a habit of showing up unexpected at some point, but he was never usually there to, well, do his job. It was always down to Ema to investigate the crime scene, so why he was there doing so instead of her was unknown to him.

It wasn't that he really minded, but Klavier was a chatty creature and he seemed to be a lot more comfortable around the bodies than Apollo had yet become under his short run. He gave too much of the impression that he was doing this because his work required him too, not because there happened to be a corpse in the area and a potential killer on the loose.

To top it all off it was getting late, and that stupid sheet Apollo had picked up with train times on was starting to seem more and more like it was saying "You've missed the last train out, sucks to be you".

He felt that someone was coming up behind him and turned to be faced with that particular prosecutor. It seemed even the detectives had headed off by now.

"It is too late for us to be doing much more investigation tonight, we just have to hope that by tomorrow all the clues have not been washed away," he said, calm and collected as usual.

It was raining too, somehow Apollo had overlooked that.

He stuffed the timetable into a pocket, before mumbling, "Yeah, I was just thinking of getting back."

"Back to the hotel, ja?" Klavier asked.

"Back to… well, back home," corrected Apollo.

With a shake of his head, Klavier said, "Herr Forehead, you cannot possibly return to the city tonight and hope to be back here by tomorrow. Why not come to the hotel with me?"

"A hotel, with you?" Apollo echoed, as if Klavier had said something completely scandalous, "I couldn't, and besides – I don't have the money for a hotel with me."

"Never mind, I will pay," Klavier assured, and with infuriating insistence he put a hand on Apollo's shoulder and started walking them in the direction of the hotel Apollo vaguely remembered passing earlier.

As they walked Apollo looked for something to say, settling on, "Why isn't Ema here today anyway?"

"The Fraulein Detective had another murder to deal with unfortunately. Killers do not operate in a system that makes it easier for us to work from, so between the two I wanted to take the case that meant travelling further. It was a good excuse to ride out here. Her and I have a working relationship strong enough to understand this sort of situation," Klavier replied.

Though Apollo doubted Ema would see it that way. As far as she was concerned she did all the work and Klavier was a lazy prosecutor, and that was about as far as a 'working relationship' between them extended.

"It's a shame that we couldn't get her-"

Apollo was halted by Klavier's outstretched arm. The other man's face was serious now. Sometimes he forgot how quickly his mood could change from being the light-hearted socialiser to being a stern prosecutor.

He followed Klavier's gaze and saw what at first looked like an average woman in a raincoat. Then he noticed that she had an expensive camera in her grasp and was looking around purposely for something.

"It seems they cannot give me peace for even a moment," he sighed, tone a lot quieter than it had been before.

In that moment when you were talking to him long enough to forget about it, life had a habit of reminding you that Klavier Gavin was also a rock star.

"What's the big deal though? They'll ask you a few questions and keep us out in the rain for a bit longer but all you need to tell them is that you're here looking into a murder case," Apollo said, watching the photographer.

It was hard for Klavier not to call Apollo naïve at times.

"Herr Forehead, you of all people should be worried about them," he said carefully, "Would you like to appear on the cover of a magazine checking into a hotel with me?"

Apollo's world shattered right there.

"They couldn't… they wouldn't! Why would people care?" he demanded, almost failing to keep his voice low enough to avoid detection.

Shaking his head, Klavier answered, "They need to fill the pages of those gossip magazines with something. And anyone famous checking into a hotel with anyone else is worth at least a rumour."

"But they might think we're up to… well I don't need to say what, it's pretty obvious," Apollo demanded hotly.

"They've considered that about me many times in the past," said Klavier, there was a hint of amusement in his voice, "But you don't need that sort of rumour being spread about you. We'll take another route."

He turned quickly, heading off down the road with Apollo on his heels. The more they walked the more Apollo noticed people around. He wouldn't have paid much attention to them if he hadn't been looking out, but now he saw that all of them had either cameras or notebooks with them. Why else would they be standing out in the rain at this time of night?

It was quite a winding trail with a fair bit of back-tracking before the two of them reached the hotel. Thankfully, though this was the main place Apollo was worried about being seen with Klavier at, the journalists seemed to have overlooked it for now.

As they stepped inside a tired looking check-in girl eyed them with distain, then Apollo noticed her expression change as she noticed Klavier. That was the effect he had on women. By the time the two of them had reached the counter her face was plastered with an unconvincing fake smile.

"How may I help you gentlemen?" she asked.

Klavier said, "We would like to book in for the night."

"In two separate rooms," Apollo added quickly. He didn't want anyone to doubt this trip was for anything other than business.

She made a tut in the back of her throat and said, "There is only a single room left for the night, double room at that. A lot of detectives staying the night, there's been a murder further down. Apparently." She said this as if someone dying was simply an inconvenience that was providing her place of work with more customers.

"In that case I suppose it will have to do," Klavier said.

"You can't be serious," Apollo said, "If they were suspicious about us checking in together it'll confirm it if we're in the same room."

"It's not as if we'll be sharing a bed, Herr Forehead," Klavier answered, then added, "Any journalist who might climb the drainpipes will note this, it's a scandal they want and two guys sleeping separately without any signs of attraction doesn't make that grade."

There was a short pause.

"They climb drainpipes?"

Clearly Apollo still had a lot to learn about the media.

He had time to think about this as they reached the room, which was the sort of welcoming bland you expected from a hotel right up until Apollo's eyes fell on the single double bed.

Well damn.

Somehow he had a feeling that lady at the counter had purposely not mentioned this for her own amusement.

Klavier was already inside the room, pulling the curtains closed with quite some speed but still looking casual about doing so. If someone was watching him from outside he wanted to come across as a guy who was just about to get some sleep instead of a guy who was trying to hide something. Being around people trying to find out about your life so often must train you to be able to account for your actions in any given situation. Apollo thought himself lucky that he didn't have to deal with that life.

A nagging voice in that back of his head said that might be why Klavier was so swift to change his emotions in varying situations.

He turned back to Apollo, snapping him out of his thought by saying, "I shall sleep on the sofa, it is a shame the Fraulein neglected to mention this but that is how our luck falls."

"No, it's not fair that you have to rough it when you paid for this," objected Apollo.

"I would hardly call this roughing it," Klavier laughed. It infuriated Apollo when there was something about the world that Klavier seemed to know but he didn't. Behind that calculated bubble of cheer was a guy who had seen a lot of life.

"I'd still prefer it," Apollo said.

"The other option is sharing, and you really don't want that," Klavier replied.

"You don't know what I do or don't want," Apollo retorted, and then heard what he said, quickly covering, "I mean… I don't want that, but… look, just get in the bed, will you?"

"Herr Forehead, I had no idea you were that sort of man," Klavier cooed.

Apollo could feel himself turning a particular shade of red. He wasn't sure whether it was anger or embarrassment.

Why did this guy fall into flirting so easily?

Walking closer, Klavier looked directing at him and said, "I know what you meant. But if we share a bed and they see it will look even worse on you. And I don't want that for you."

"We work together every other day," Apollo said through gritted teeth, still a bit annoyed, "They were probably going to make up something about us soon anyway. Now stop causing a fuss and just go to sleep."

Apollo's warning somehow made Klavier smile, he really couldn't see why.

"I think I like this side of you," the prosecutor purred, turning away to get ready for bed.

Having been less prepared for his night in the hotel, Apollo just took off his jacket and shoes. Sleeping in his clothes might be on the scruffy side but what other choice did he have?

As he sent a quick message to Trucy saying that he was all right he happened to glance up at Klavier, whose bare back was facing him. At the moment Apollo had mixed feelings in regards to men, but he had to confess to himself that as far as they went Klavier was attractive.

He averted his gaze as Klavier turned around, gulping slowly as he came to the realisation that the other man must sleep topless.

Klavier lay on the bed, and as Apollo stayed strictly sat on what had become his own half of the bed he thought about how long it had been since he'd slept beside anyone. He'd never had much in the terms of relatives, and even when living with other people he was granted the privacy of his own room. The more he thought about it the harder it was to remember who the last person he'd shared a bed with had been.

Sensing that Klavier was watching him, Apollo stuttered, "Well, good night then…"

Reaching over, he clicked off the light.

Oh, so many things could happen when you were sharing a hotel bed with a man of ominous sexuality…

…And, almost infuriatingly, none of them did.

Apollo woke up the next morning still in possession of all of his clothes and without a vast amount of photographers snapping his picture from the end of the bed.

The only difference he found was that Klavier had moved so he was now right next to him, curled up with considerable comfort. Looking at his sleeping face made Apollo feel sort of peaceful. This was Klavier, the rock star and prosecutor, in a completely natural state – without any trained act monitoring his reactions to people.

This discovery was short lived, however, as he was starting to stir. Opening his eyes, Klavier greeted Apollo with a glance that made the other think he was somehow glad to be waking up next to him, and then Klavier seemed to remember the situation and recover.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?" he asked, yawning as he sat up.

"A lot better than I though, really," confessed Apollo, rubbing the back of his head.

Getting up, Klavier glanced through a slit in the curtain and said, "There seems to be none of them around this morning either. We'd better get back to the crime scene soon if you want to avoid incident."

The crime scene. That was ground Apollo was familiar with.

By the time they checked out of the hotel Apollo was feeling a lot better about the whole affair, right up until there was a flash from the bushes and an eager looking journalist was rushing towards them.

"I knew it was you last night! What were you doing in that hotel and who's this guy?" He launched into questioning as if Klavier would disappear in the next few seconds. Perhaps most celebrities did.

It seemed that Klavier usually had a lot of time of day for the press, but right now his face was set in a frown.

"He is a defence attorney here to examine a murder scene, you'd do better not to spread rumours about him," he said, acidly.

And it was then that Apollo realised the weight of Klavier doing this all for him. The back-tracking through the rain, the making sure the press couldn't see in the room, the offer to sleep on the sofa – it had all been to stop him from getting seen.

Why was that, when he frequently saw magazines in the shops showing all the many people Klavier was rumoured to have been with?

He felt the realisation hit the pit of his stomach as it came to him that Klavier actually cared enough about him to not want him to be savaged by the press.

"You sound defensive for someone here on work," the reporter said, already writing his article in his head.

It was time to give him something a little more interesting to write about.

He reached up, placing a hand on Klavier's face before leaning up to kiss him.

The camera flashed furiously, and though the other man didn't pull back when they were finished his eyes widened with fear.

"Herr Forehead, they'll write about you…"

"I don't care, they can write all they want," Apollo assured.

"But I don't want you to be messed up by them," said Klavier.

Looking at him, ignoring the photographer, Apollo confirmed, "So what if I do? It's part of your life and if I'm going to be close to you, friend or otherwise, I want to be able to get used to that aspect of you."

Klavier had no response to this, so Apollo took his hand to firmly lead him past the reporter. For some reason the guy didn't stop them, perhaps he had realised that they wanted some privacy. Or more likely he knew not to get involved in a lover's spat when he saw once.

When they were out of his sight, Klavier smiled and said, "Danke for that. You have no idea how difficult they can be to sneak behind…"

"You should just be honest with them sometimes," Apollo said calmly, "Though I know you were doing all that for my benefit. Look, Gavin, I want you to be truthful with me here – did you act so guarded around me because of them?"

"Ja," Klavier admitted.

"Well now you don't have to bother," Apollo told him, "And one more question - do you like me in that way?"

There was a silence, and Klavier nodded.

"That's good then, because otherwise I would have just given them a headliner for no reason," Apollo said, breathing out in relief. "So can we now just be honest about a relationship and not worry about what the press think?"

Contently, Klavier answered, "Ja, we can."

"Good. Um… good." Apollo didn't know what to say now, so he just carried on walking.

After a brief pause, Klavier said, "I never thought you'd be the one asking me out though."

Blushing furiously, Apollo saw that he was going to have a lot to tell Mr. Wright when he got back…


End file.
